Black nationalism in America THE AMERICAN HERITAGE SERIES The American Heritage Series UNDER THE GENERAL EDITORSHIP OF Leonard W. Levy and Alfred F. Young Black nationalism in America Edited by JOHN H. BRACEY, JR. Northern Illinois University AUGUST MEIER Kent State University ELLIOTT RUDWICK Kent State University THE BOBBS-MERRILL COMPANY, INC. Indianapolis and New York 1970 BY THE BOBBS-MERRILL COMPANY, INC. Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 79-99161. First Printing To three Black Queens Helen, my mother Connie, my sister Jessica, my wife J.H.B. To Harold and Esther Wilson A.M. For Jo Ann Bogle and Patrick W. Riddleberger E.R. Foreword The fact that the phrase "the past illuminates the present" is abused should not prevent us from using it where it deserves to be used. Few, we believe, will turn away from this pioneering study of black nationalism without a deepened understanding of the movements that seemingly have burst upon the battle-scarred American racial scene since the mid-1960s. This is the first collection of documents devoted exclusively to black nationalism, and the introduction is one of the few essays that attempt to lay out a pattern for black nationalism over the sweep of American history. The editors, two of them historians, one a sociologist, have illuminated their subject in at least three ways. First, they have documented the persistence of black nationalism in American life. Simply put, the ideas that inform the current slogans of "Black Power" and "Black is Beautiful" have a long lineage. Doubtless it will amaze many to learn that in 1787 free Negroes named their separate church, the African Methodist Episcopal Church; and that in 1885 Francis J. Grimke advocated black teachers in black schools; and in 1898 Bishop Henry M. Turner preached "God is Black." Second, the editors have defined the varieties of black nationalism which range, as they see it, from racial solidarity, cultural nationalism and religious nationalism, through economic nationalism (bourgeois and socialist) and political nationalism (both reform and revolutionary), to territorial separatism and Pan-Africanism . By illustrating each type of nationalism in successive phases called "Origins," "Maturation," Viii FOREWORD "Flowering," and "Eclipse," they lay a basis for seeing both the parallels and unique features of the current "Revival ." Third, they have chosen selections not only from the few well-known nationalists-Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X, Eldridge Cleaver-but they have illustrated the subtle nationalist strain that twines through such central figures as Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, and W. E. B. Du Bois . At the same time they have ferreted out the forgotten manifestos, speeches, leaf- lets, and letters that express nationalism at such root sources as Afro-American newspapers, Negro businessmen's leagues, and colored peoples' conventions. It should not be surprising that the editors disagree in inter- preting the history they document. They bring to their task diverse experiences as scholars and diverse points of view as participants in contemporary movements. It may establish a healthy precedent among collaborators, however, that they have set down their disagreement in the introduction. August Meier and Elliott Rudwick, on the one hand-and John Bracey, on the other-disagree as to how to conceptualize the status of the black man in America, whether the emphasis belongs on the essential continuity or on the ebb and flow of black nationalism, and on how varied nationalisms relate to social class . Their book is thus an invitation to thought; its spirit manifests neither spe- cial pleading nor condemnation . And for this reason it is an outstanding demonstration of the contribution skillful scholars with a rich command of the sources can make toward clarifying present-day alternatives . This book is one of a series created to provide the essential primary sources of the American experience, especially of Amer- ican thought. The series, when completed, will constitute a documentary library of American history, filling a need long felt among scholars, students, libraries, and general readers for authoritative collections of original materials. Some volumes will illuminate the thought of significant individuals, such as James Madison or Louis Brandeis ; some will deal with move- ments, such as the Antifederalists or the Populists; others will be organized around special themes, such as Puritan political ix FOREWORD thought, or American Catholic thought on social questions. Many volumes will take up the large number of subjects tradi- tionally studied in American history for which surprisingly there are no documentary anthologies; others will pioneer in introducing new subjects of increasing importance to scholars and to the contemporary world. The series aspires to maintain the high standards demanded of contemporary editing, provid- ing authentic texts, intelligently and unobtrusively edited. It will also have the distinction of presenting pieces of substantial length which give the full character and flavor of the original . The series will be the most comprehensive and- authoritative of its kind. Alfred F. Young Leonard W. Levy Contents INTRODUCTION xxv SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY lxi EDITORS' NOTE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS lxix PART ONE Origins Foundations of the black community: the church 3 1 . RICHARD ALLEN DESCRIBES THE FOUNDING OF THE AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, 1787-1816 4 From The Life, Experiences and Gospel Labors of Richard Allen 2 . BISHOP DANIEL ALEXANDER PAYNE REVIEWS THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE NEGRO CHURCH 11 From History of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, 1891 3. A LAYMAN EXPLAINS "WHY NEGRO CHURCHES ARE A NECESSITY" 14 From L. H. Reynolds, A.M .E . Church Review, 1887 Foundations of the black community: the mutual benefit societies 18 4. THE FREE AFRICAN SOCIETY OF PHILADELPHIA 19 Preamble and Articles of the Society, 1787 xii CONTENTS 5. THE AFRICAN INSTITUTION OF BOSTON 22 Prince Sanders, et al., to Captain Paul Cu$e, 1812 Foundations of the black community : the press 23 6. THE FIRST NEGRO PAPER: "TOO LONG HAVE OTHERS SPOKEN FOR US" 24 Freedom's Journal, 1827 Pleas for racial unity 29 1~ 7. DAVID WALKER: "TO UNITE THE COLORED PEOPLE" 29 Address to the General Colored Association at Boston, 1828 8. DAVID NICKENS : "LET US CHERISH A FRIENDLY UNION WITH OURSELVES" 34 Address to the People of Color in Chillicothe, Ohio, 1832 Colonization 38 9. PAUL CUFFE CALLS FOR THE UPLIFT OF AFRICA 41 A. Petition to the President and Congress, 1813 41 B. Letter to Robert Finley, 1817 44 10. JAMES FORTEN EXPRESSES A DEEP CONCERN ABOUT AFRICA 45 Letter to Paul Cu$e, 1817 xiii CONTENTS 11. DANIEL COKER : "MY SOUL CLEAVES TO AFRICA" 46 Letter to Jeremiah Watts, 1820 12. A WOULD-BE EMIGRANT : "WE HAD RATHER BE GONE" 48 Abraham Camp to the American Colonization Society, 1818 PART TWO Maturation The antebellum colored conventions 51 13. COLORED NATIONAL CONVENTION OF 1848 ON "COMPLEXIONAL" AND WHITE INSTITUTIONS 53 From Report . of the Colored National Convention, 1848 14. FREDERICK DOUGLASS : "OUR ELEVATION AS A RACE, IS ALMOST WHOLLY DEPENDENT UPON OUR OWN EXERTIONS" 57 A. To Our Oppressed Countrymen 57 The North Star, 1847 B. Self-Elevation-Rev. S. R. Ward 60 Frederick Douglass's Paper, 1855 15. COLORED NATIONAL CONVENTION OF 1853: "A NATIONAL COUNCIL OF THE COLORED PEOPLE" 63 From Proceedings of the Colored National Convention, 1853 xiv CONTENTS Revolutionary nationalism 67 16. HENRY HIGHLAND GARNET CALLS FOR SLAVE REBELLIONS 67 From An Address to the Slaves . , 1843 Colonization 77 17. AN ALABAMA NEGRO BUSINESSMAN WANTS TO GO TO LIBERIA 79 Letters of S. Wesley Jones to officials of the American Colonization Society, 1848-1851 18. BLACK CITIZENS OF CINCINNATI "SEEK A HOME WHERE WE MAY BE FREE" 85 African Repository, 1850 19. NATIONAL EMIGRATION CONVENTION OF 1854 : "A PEOPLE, TO BE FREE, MUST NECESSARILY BE THEIR OWN RULERS" 87 From Proceedings of the National Emigration Convention, 1854 20. JAMES THEODORE HOLLY SPEAKS OF "THE CONTINUED ADVANCEMENT OF THE NEGRO NATIONALITY OF THE NEW WORLD" 110 From A Vindication of the Negro Race, 1857 Cultural nationalism 114 21 . HENRY HIGHLAND GARNET DESCRIBES THE GREATNESS OF AFRICA 115 From The Past and the Present Condition, and the Destiny of the Colored Race, 1848 CONTENTS PART THREE Flowering Race pride, race solidarity 123 22. THE A.M.E. CHURCH REVIEW: "WE MUST LEARN TO LOVE OURSELVES" 126 A.M.E. Church Review, 1886 23. ALEXANDER CRUMMELL: "WHAT THIS RACE NEEDS IN THIS COUNTRY IS POWER" 128 From The Greatness of Christ and Other Sermons, 1882 24. ALEXANDER CRUMMELL ON "THE NEED OF . SCHOLARLY MEN" TO "LIFT UP THIS PEOPLE OF OURS" 139 From "Civilization, The Primal Need of the Race," 1897 25. FRANCIS J. GRIMKL URGES BLACK TEACHERS FOR BLACK SCHOOLS 143 A.M.E. Church Review, 1885 26. BISHOP HENRY M. TURNER: "GOD IS A NEGRO" 154 Voice of Missions, February 1, 1898 Territorial separatism and emigration 156 27. A LEADER OF THE KANSAS EXODUS : "WE WANTED TO GO TO A TERRITORY BY OURSELVES" 161 From Testimony before the United States Senate Committee to Investigate the Causes of the Removal of the Negroes from the Southern States, 1880 xvi CONTENTS 28. THE SOUTH CAROLINA EXODUS TO AFRICA : "AFRICA IS THE ONLY LAND THAT A COLORED MAN CAN SAY IS HIS" 170 Letters from African Repository, 1877-1880 29. BISHOP HENRY M. TURNER DEMANDS AN INDEMNITY "TO GO HOME TO AFRICA" 172 Editorials, Voice of Missions, 1898-1900 A. "The Negro has not Sense Enough," 1900 172 B. "War with Spain," 1898 174 C . "Emigration," 1900 176 30. ARTHUR A. ANDERSON : "PROPHETIC LIBERATOR OF THE COLOURED RACE," DEMANDS AN INDEMNITY FOR A SEPARATE TERRITORY IN THE UNITED STATES 177 From Prophetic Liberator of the Coloured Race, 1913 31. THE GARVEY MOVEMENT DESCRIBED : "UP, YOU MIGHTY RACE!" 187 From Roi Ottley, `New World A-Coming,' 1943 32.